Vaginal pain entirely limited to front vaginal wall?

[Superiorblue]

Hi,
I’m 19 and have suffered with painful sex for 2 years now (after having a kidney infection, sex gradually became more painful).

I have started using dilators and I’m able to insert them pain free. The main issue lies with my front vaginal wall which is tender and painful to touch or, more specifically, press. It’s as if it’s stabbing my bladder through the vaginal wall.

Any advice, info, tips, whatever, would be incredibly helpful!

[Mikaela97]

Hi there,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve been spending a lot of time reading other post. This seems to be the only one I can find that directly speaks to uterine pain and anterior vaginal wall pain.

I was diagnosed with a type of persistent cystitis when I was 17. 6 years later, I’m still experiencing pain, but its different from that initial bladder pain (though still seems kind of connected), and my urologists have long ruled out infection. A few weeks ago, I went to see my gynaecologist and they diagnosed me with vaginismus, the logic being, I think, that I have secondary vaginismus that developed because of me spending years bracing myself in anticipation of the cystitis pain.

My urologists had previously suspected that I might have interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, but they’ve since gone back on that diagnosis because it doesn’t seem to fit. I guess I don’t have as much urgency and severe pain as others.

I’ve been using my dilators for over a week now and they’ve been going well, and I’m able to relax into the pain. I’ve also seen a pelvic floor therapist who instructed me to use a smaller size dilator to press against the sides and bottom walls of my vagina. As you can see, she only said bottom and sides, not top, which is where I feel the most significant stabbing pain.

Like SuperiorBlue, I’m wondering if this is common with people with vaginismus, or somehow a sign of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome? Would relaxing the bottom and side muscles relax pressure and relieve pain in the anterior wall? Also, does anyone else with a history of UTIs or Bladder Infection find that the dilators are making their urgency increase?

A few other symptoms I’ve always wondered about: Do other people with vaginismus have worse pain during their periods? Also, do pain medications like ibuprofen makes things worse for you as well?

Thank you!

[recessivegenequeen]

Hi Mikaela97 – so I’m NOT a doctor but i think I can field a couple of these questions. I think for most people that since their vaginismus is more generalized to the tensing of all their muscles, it doesn’t USUALLY happen that a particular side of the vagina (like the top) will hurt more than the other parts, it’s more general pain with insertion. It definitely sounds like you’ve developed a kind of secondary vaginismus as a result of having so much existing vaginal pain, which I imagine is associated with your other conditions. It is very normal for the amount of vaginal pain and discomfort you feel to change throughout the month based on your cycle, so more pain during your period is very normal.

Sorry I can’t address more of your specific queries but I’m hoping one of the forum’s doctors will weigh in. And you are really brave for working through so much pain at such a young age so you should be really proud of yourself! Good luck with continuing your treatment and dilating and keep asking questions as you have them – we’re here to help!

[Sks823]

Hello, I’m just replying this interesting question so that it’ll go to the top and maybe one of the forum’s medical experts can review and attempt to answer your questions!

I’m echoing the support above and letting you know you’re doing an awesome job so far! Unfortunately I don’t have experience with this type of pain so can’t give anything more helpful!

[Ettina]

That pain sounds like it’s in a similar area to when I have a really bad bladder infection. My vaginismus pain is more like a ring of tension all around the vagina, right near the entrance.

I have really bad menstrual cramps, but I don’t know if it’s related to my vaginismus. The vaginismus itself sometimes gets worse if I’m in a lot of pain in other areas, but my tooth extraction actually had far more impact than my menstrual cramps ever had.

I have frequent UTIs and mild urge and stress incontinence (the urge sometimes comes on so suddenly it’s hard to control, and sneezing or coughing can make me wet sometimes). Sometimes relaxing for the dilator makes me feel like I’m going to wet myself, but otherwise I haven’t noticed any change in my bladder because of dilating. Having a full bladder makes it a lot harder to relax for the dilator, which sucks because my goal is to tolerate an IUI better and the IUI is easier for them to do if my bladder is full.